When installing systems, for example computerized systems such as applications or portals, many types of problems may occur. Some problems may occur during installation, whether the installation does not succeed and the system is not installed at all, or the installation is completed but installation errors are reported. However, even if the installation of the system goes well and no problems are reported, the system may still not function as expected. The system may not function at all, may provide only some of the expected functionality, or function incorrectly or in sub-optimal manner. Installation and execution problems may be caused by a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: the used hardware equipment, such as CPU, memory, available disk space; operating system; registry; pre-required systems such as database installations, J2EE versions, .NET versions; portal contents; installed and activated or paused services, and their versions and updates; log and trace files; language, time zone or other regional settings; installed version and available updates for each component of the application or portal; component installation order; deployed components and deployment order; connectivity parameters such as internet or internet connectivity parameters; configurations; user settings; authorizations; and others.
Some systems, such as enterprise systems installed in enterprises, are first installed on a testing environment used exclusively for these purposes, such as a dedicated computer, on which intensive quality assurance, tests, corrections, and adjustments are performed. Only when the testing results are satisfactory, the system is installed on production environments, i.e., on one or more additional computers.
In such situations, it sometimes happens that while the testing environment fully functions as expected, one or more of the production environments does not function at all, functions partially, or produces incorrect or otherwise suboptimal results. In another typical scenario, an enterprise may use an enterprise system, which includes several identical sub-systems. In such systems, wherein all subsystems are expected to behave identically, but practically some of the sub systems function differently from others, or do not function at all. The problem can stem from multiple sources in either the testing environment and/or in the production environment, and may not be easy to find. Locating and correcting the problem may cause serious problems, such as downtime, timetable delays and others.
Thus there is a need for a method and apparatus for detecting problems in systems installed on computers such as production environments, when another system such as a testing environment, is available, wherein one systems is believed to function satisfactorily while the other one does not, or when the two systems provide some functionality and it is not clear which one functions well and which does not.